Lovell, James Arthur, Jr. (1928–)
American astronaut who became the first human to go into space four times,
flying aboard Gemini 7, Gemini 12,
Apollo 8, and Apollo
13, and the only person ever to go to the Moon twice and not land. Lovell
attended the University of Wisconsin for two years, then entered the Naval
Academy at Annapolis, graduating with a B.S. in 1952. Following graduation,
Lovell received flight training and served at a number of navy bases until
entering Naval Test Pilot School in 1958. One of nine NASA astronauts chosen
in September 1962, he was first assigned as backup pilot for Gemini 4. In
January 1966, after returning from Gemini 7, he was named backup commander
for Gemini 10, a job generally thought to be a dead end. Under the NASA
rotation system, Lovell could have expected to command Gemini 13, but the
program ended with flight number 12. His continued involvement with Gemini
would keep him from being named to the early Apollo flights. But on February
28, 1966, Gemini 9 astronauts Elliott See and Charles Bassett were killed
in a plane crash. In the subsequent shuffle of crew assignments, Lovell
and his pilot Buzz Aldrin moved from the
Gemini 10 backup to Gemini 9, and were later assigned to Gemini 12. A year
after Gemini 12, in the wake of the tragic Apollo 1 fire, Lovell was assigned
with Neil Armstrong and Aldrin to the
backup crew for what eventually became Apollo
8. In July 1968 Lovell was promoted to prime crew, replacing Michael
Collins. This sequence of events
made it possible for Lovell to become one of the first humans to fly around
the Moon, but cost him his participation in the first lunar landing. A similar
mix of good and bad luck placed Lovell on Apollo 13. As backup commander
of Apollo 11 he was in line to command
Apollo 14. But an attempt by flight crew
chief Deke Slayton to name Mercury
astronaut Alan Shepard, recently returned
to flight status, to Apollo 13, was blocked by NASA management, who thought
Shepard needed more training. In August 1969 Lovell was asked if he and
his crew could be ready in time to fly Apollo 13, eight months later. Lovell
said they could and got the job. Following Apollo 13 and a leave to attend
Harvard, Lovell was named deputy director for science and applications at
the Johnson Space Center in May 1971. On Mar. 1, 1973, he retired from the
Navy as a captain and resigned from NASA to enter private business. Today,
Lovell is president of Lovell Communications and also serves as chairman
of Mission HOME, a campaign to rekindle enthusiasm and support for space.
Related category
• ASTRONAUTS
AND COSMONAUTS
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